7.2 The One City Climate Strategy

Energy and Environment

Environment Policy 2017 (reviewed annually) Bristol Biodiversity Action Plan Annual Reviews “Route to Zero” - proposal for revised energy performance standards for new BCC housing Climate Change and Sustainability Practice Note – How to build low-carbon and resilient developments

Related

Social Value Policy – January 2019 (Public report produced twice a year). Social Value Toolkit Bristol One City – Climate Strategy Review late 2020s Mayor’s Climate Action Plan 2020 Health and Well-being Strategy 2020–2025 Bristol Parks and Green Space Strategy 2008–2028

The One City Climate Strategy sets out an ambitious goal of making Bristol carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2030. This is set in the context of the city’s wider objectivesfor a fair and inclusive transition that does not marginalize disadvantaged communities or leave people behind.

The climate strategy has been developed with Bristol’s vision and principles informing and guiding all of the activity. The city has set out ten delivery themes for the vision. They are: 1. Transport 2. Buildings 3. Heat decarbonization 4. Electricity 5. Consumption and Waste 6. Business and Economy 7. Public Services 8. Natural Environment 9. Food 10. Infrastructure and Interdependencies

These represent the city’s collective commitment to capture the opportunity and respond to the challenge of reaching its ambition to be carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2030.

Some fundamental system changes will be required, within Bristol and beyond, to deliver the plan. These have been described as “enabling conditions for change”; cross-cutting changes that will be required to achieve delivery following themes:  Data  Funding  National Action  Skills  Engagement  Infrastructure

Introduction The challenge: Creating a financial model for green and affordable housing About Bristol’s zero carbon housing challenge Social and development challenges Creating a conducive environment for climate-friendly housing innovation

Transport

Transport represents 34% of the average Bristol resident’s carbon footprint, and a substantial percentage of the economy’s footprint within and beyond the city. Bristol’s transport goals revolve around the central aims of reducing the number of vehicles, particularly cars, on the road and phasing out petrol and diesel by converting to biogas or hydrogen. This will be done through redesigning and delivering infrastructure to provide alternative travel options and incentivize low-emission travel like active travel. The location of new homes and their connection to the rest of the city will be central in ensuring that any homes built do not lock in further carbon emissions. New homes will need to be well connected to accessible public transport and active travel options so that residents are not reliant on cars.

Buildings

Both development and installation of new buildings and transformation of existing ones will need to align with the city’s approach to decarbonizing heat and transport. The effort will also need to involve financial incentives to reduce or spread the cost of energy performance improvements, alongside specific approaches to tackle the performance of the private rented sector.

The aim is to achieve these goals through a focus on retrofitting to improve energy performance as well as supporting local jobs and businesses through upgrading skills and knowledge. Ideally, this will be achieved under revised national energy efficiency regulations for new builds

Heat Decarbonization

Heating buildings and hot water in Bristol currently accounts for nearly 40% of the city’s scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. Bristol aims to improve energy performance by switching completely away from gas boilers to efficient electric heating supplied by carbon neutral electricity, potentially creating significant job opportunities.

A phase out of gas heating will also be supported by connecting buildings to heat networks, ideally under a national or regional planning system that is supportive of this transition to heat decarbonization and requires the alignment of each new development with the city’s heat decarbonization plans.

Electricity

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 will depend heavily on the electricity consumed being decarbonized. In turn, this depends on the decarbonization of the national electricity system (grid decarbonization).

Bristol will need to generate more “in area” zero-carbon electricity, by realizing more of the potential rooftop solar PV on buildings across the city. It will also enable the low-cost decarbonization of the national grid by creating strong demand and price support for subsidy-free renewable generation, and by participating at scale in smart energy solutions to create more flexible demand.

Business and Economy

Businesses in Bristol contribute £1.7 billion to the British economy. Businesses and organizations in Bristol have an approximate total greenhouse gas footprint of 5,000 ktCO2e.

The carbon neutral goal and adoption of a circular economy seeks to decouple economic or business growth from resource consumption by creating value from resources in new ways, and to develop jobs related to specialized skills in the green economy. Bristol can benefit from the opportunities presented through new green jobs and the green economy by becoming a regional and national hub for the green sector. This will be particularly true for the skills and companies that will be required to deliver new homes and retrofit.

Natural Environment

By 2030, Bristol needs to deliver blue and green infrastructure and to restore the city’s natural environment to protect from future climate events, whilst also providing ecological net gain and enhancing all sequestration potential of all developments. Action in this area is also needed to limit the damage that will be caused to wildlife by the impacts of climate change, whilst also supporting opportunities for recovery and protection of species by making businesses wildlife-friendly. Any new homes built will need to ensure they are provided net positive biodiversity gain.

Food

By 2030 Bristol needs to develop a resilient and low-carbon food supply chain that will contribute to the reduction of the city’s carbon footprint, whilst improving security to the supply chain and boosting the local food economy. Urban food production potential will be maximized for sustainable and resilient food production that will be made available to everyone. New neighbourhoods will need to consider how residents can access and grow healthy sustainable and low-carbon food.

Infrastructure Interdependencies

As the city is made up of complex interdependent systems, climate risks can have direct or indirect relationships between wider city assets and cause cascading shocks and stresses. New homes need to be low carbon and climate resilient so as not to put residents at risk of future climate shocks.